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Are the hundreds of billions for defense being spent wisely, in for 95 percent traditional weapons? At the Munich Security Conference Moritz Schularick, director of the specialised research Kiel Institute, said that over 800 billion euros in additional investment in the next years are ‘no guarantee that Europe will become more secure!’. He advocated for greater attention to innovation.

After a painful NATO exercise: are all those billions for defense being spent wisely?

NATO reported on its website about a large-scale exercise organised by a multinational battlegroup in Estonia. The soldiers had to train in temperatures of 20 degrees below zero. The military alliance is investing significant resources in defending its eastern flank.

Everybody knows that the European Commission is an obstacle on the way to real reforms with its dictatorial president, internal divisions among the 27 commissioners and competition between the directorates-general. On top of that, there is the European Parliament that is primarily at odds with itself or yearns for more power.

Can the EU, under pressure from major powers, turn the tide?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Mario Draghi and Enrico Letto, former prime ministers of Italy, wrote scathing reports on the EU competitiveness and the internal market, respectively.

It looks like the world is entering a new nuclear arms race, now with three participants.

Is the world entering a new nuclear arms race?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, February 4, 2026

The latest agreement, New Start, between Russia and the US on limiting nuclear arms expires. The US (3700) and Russia (4300) together have about 8.000 nuclear warheads. China stood around 600 last year, but according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China could have nearly as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as Russia and the US by 2030.

EU Foreign Policy head Kaja Kallas’ idea is, that NATO needs to become more European to maintain it strength. But it will take a very long time.

European security and ownership

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 28, 2026

According to the Wall Street Journal Trump’s turnaround about Greenland followed after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

The Commission has done everything it can to push through this agreement at all costs. Including artificially splitting it into two parts, an attempt to circumvent the national parliaments and unanimity in the European Council. That can be considered as a far-reaching and democratically very problematic approach.

“The Mercosur agreement is an attack on our agriculture and democracy"

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Farmers from all over Europe were demonstrating in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg against the Mercosur agreement. According to many MEPs, the protest was more than justified.

In the field of security, there is a tension between the Commission and the member states. The Commission is seeking a more explicit EU role in defence, while most member states have a growing interest in European cooperation within the NATO framework, for example through a Joint Expeditionary Force with the UK.

The growing gap between the European Commission and the practice (read: member states)

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 14, 2026

The gap between the European Commission’s federal ambitions and actual policy practice in the EU is becoming increasingly visible.

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Changing the directive was one of the recommendations from the report by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Europe’s declining competitiveness. An important step to improve that competitiveness, according to Draghi, was to relax the anti-look-away law.

EU anti-look away law relaxed by European Parliament right

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 7, 2026

The EU anti-look away law (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive), the dream of the EP left and green and a heritage of the in the meantime disappeared from the scene Commission Vice-President Timmermans, includes that business should not make its money by exploiting labour and destroying the environment.

The six state that EU competitiveness has seriously deteriorated. This would be the direct result of Brussels decisions taken during Commissioner Frans Timmermans ‘reign’ on the basis of ideology rather than facts’.

Six EU countries demand revision of climate policy: ‘Ideological dogmatism harms our industry’

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, December 15, 2025

Six European heads of government have called on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to review the current EU climate policy.

The eagerness of the German tandem Commission President Von der Leyen and Chancellor Merz to seize the in Belgium located Russian assets removes crucial brakes. But Moscow has sent harsh warnings to Belgium about the Russian assets.

German tandem Von der Leyen and Merz prey on Russian assets in Belgium

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 10, 2025

To say that the pressure on the Belgian Prime Minister is immense is the understatement of the year.

The main change by the member states of the deforestation directive is the introduction of a simplification clause.

Member states and EP demand pause on radical green rules

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Something is finally moving, after decades of more and more regulation. A first simplification package was approved in the European Parliament.

Would the EU insist that ending fossil fuels was mentioned in the final declaration or back down to save the COP30? Eventually the Union agreed with a text without ‘fossil fuels’ and with the threefold increase of the financial climate support for the poor countries : annually 300 billion dollar.

UN climate summit leaves fossil fuels out of the picture

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, November 26, 2025

It was supposed to be a historic UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belém, thirty years after the first and ten years after the successful Paris summit, a new step in limiting greenhouse gas emissions would be taken.

The only ones who still stubbornly cling to the illusory one and a half degrees are the political and administrative elites who have made a case for the associated policies, the activist climate movement and a few stray activist climate scientists here and there

Guterres: the one and a half Celsius is dead

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, November 12, 2025

On the eve of the UN climate conference COP30 in Brazil, the word was finally out.

Within the European Council, a fierce political battle is raging to use the blocked billions to support Ukraine, at least that part (140 billon euros) that consists of Russian government bonds.

Russia and China warn the EU about Euroclear billions

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin went on a working visit to Cina. After a meeting with his Chinese colleague Li Qiang in the city of Hangzhou, an extensive press release was published yesterday.

Less regulation, less reporting on sustainability, more realism, more flexibility, and pragmatism are the new marching orders for the European Commission.

EU leaders slow down Green Deal to save industry and business competitiveness

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, October 27, 2025

The relation between industry and business competitiveness on the one hand and the green transition on the other was one of the key issues at the Summit last week.

The EU leaders want to do the job ‘in-house’, under the umbrella of the Council. This looks like they don’t trust the Commission for it.

EP rejects an ‘unbalanced, excessive’ law, part of the Green Deal. A new trend?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, October 22, 2025

As expected, another part of Timmermans’ Green Deal, the Forest Monitoring Regulation, has been rejected by the EP, by 370 votes to 264.

The problem is significant. Only twenty percent of rejected asylum seekers actually leave the EU

EU wrangling to get rid of illegal immigrants

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, October 15, 2025

‘Last year, there were almost one million illegal immigrants in the EU. They are using our public funds. It is completely unacceptable’. Brave words of the Danish Migration Minister Rasmus Stockland

The decision on how to proceed now rests with Macron, who must surely be asking himself how long this political charade can be allowed to go on. He has three options: He can appoint another prime minister. He can once again dissolve the General Assembly. Or he can resign himself.

3rd French Prime Minister in 13 months resigned after 26 days

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, October 7, 2025

French politics has been highly unstable since July 2024, when President Emmanuel Macron called for snap parliamentary elections in a bid to achieve a clear majority following a bruising loss for his party in the European Parliament vote

German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz, France President Emmanuel Macron and many other national leaders rallied behind the peace plan. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the international aid flotilla on his way to Gaza led by the former climate activist Gretha Thunberg to immediately cease its action. ‘Many would be only too happy to disrupt US President Trumps’s peace plan’, Meloni said.

EU Council dilemma: What to do with the Commission’s Israel sanction package?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, October 1, 2025

What to decide about the Commission’s sanction package against Israel

‘Today’s vote marks the clear end of the Timmermans era and its forest monitoring law’, stated MEP Stefan Köhler (EPP) in the European Parliament’s Committee for Environment

Exit ‘Monitoring Framework for Resilient European Forests’ : the end of the Timmermans era?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, September 24, 2025

‘Today’s vote marks the clear end of the Timmermans era and its forest monitoring law’, stated MEP Stefan Köhler (EPP) in the European Parliament’s Committee for Environment

The EU is still so dependent on Chinese raw materials that it cannot take a stand against China’s dumping on the EU market. This dependence also prevents the EU from going against China’s support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Result, China’s trade surplus with the European Union has increased by almost 20 percent since December last year.

One year after the Draghi report: China’s trade surplus increased by almost 20 percent

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, September 17, 2025

At the presentation of his 400-page report in September 2024, Mario Draghi said, the EU will face a ‘slow death’ if it doesn’t quickly close the gap with economic superpowers such as the United States and China

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EU Actually

After a painful NATO exercise: are all those billions for defense being spent wisely?

N. Peter KramerBy: N. Peter Kramer

NATO reported on its website about a large-scale exercise organised by a multinational battlegroup in Estonia. The soldiers had to train in temperatures of 20 degrees below zero. The military alliance is investing significant resources in defending its eastern flank.

Europe

Macron Makes France a Great Middle Power

Macron Makes France a Great Middle Power

France has stopped clinging to notions of being a great power and is embracing the middle power moment. But Emmanuel Macron has his work cut out if he is to secure his country’s global standing before his term in office ends.

Business

The EU’s zig-zag road towards stronger financial markets

The EU’s zig-zag road towards stronger financial markets

Giles Merritt delves into the confusing welter of efforts to streamline Europe’s national financial players into a more dynamic single capital market

MARKET INDICES

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